Process and apparatus for tensionless handling of running lengths of materials



' H. H. BELCHER PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TENSIONLESS HANDLING June 28,1949.

OF RUNNING LENGTHS OF MATERIALS Filed Feb. 10, 1948 I 1/ I II II l/II/I/III/ Patented June 28,1949

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TENSION LESS HANDLING OF RUNNING LENGTHS OFMATERIALS Harold H. Belcher, Orange, Mass., assignor to Rodney HuntMachine 00.; a corporation of Massachusetts Canada Jlfiie 21, 1947Application February 10, 1948, Serial No. 7,466

23 Claims.

My invention relates to methods and apparatus for handling moving webs,especially webs of fabric and similar materials.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationsSerial No. 624,871, filed October 26, 1945, entitled fApparatus forfluid treatment of materials, and Serial No. 718,- 710, filed December27, 1946, entitled Method for fluid treatment of materials," both nowabancloned.

Fabrics are made from a wide variety of materials and diifer widely intexture, weave and strength, as from heavy canvas to sheer stockingmaterial, and are usually subjected to a number of physical and chemicaltreatments while being processed for marketing. These treatments mayinclude washing, bleaching, dyeing, drying,'ageing and the like andduring many of these treatments the fabric is subjected to forces andconditions tending to shrink or stretch it. In substantially all ofthese treatments, the fabric is moved as a continuous web to or througha treating vat or chamber wherein it usually is subjected to the actionof a liquid or gas treating agent or reagent.

Fabrics generally are susceptible of physical distortion and permanentinjury, especially under such conditions, and most fabrics may be muchmore easily distorted or torn when wet than when dry. In practice it hasbeen found that many of the more delicate fabrics are so sensitive tomechanical stress during processing that it has heretofore beennecessary to treat them by a relatively slow and antiquated batchprocess rather than a continuous process. Under modern productionrequirements it is highly desirable to treat fabrics continuously athigh speeds. In some instances it is necessary to handle dry fabrics, inothers wet fabrics in air or other gas and in still others to handlefabrics in a liquid.

Many processes and machines have been devised to meet these conditions,but to my knowledge none of these processes or machines has met withmore than limited success, usually with a few particular fabrics forwhich they are specially designed. In general, in such prior processesand machines the fabric web is passed over a series of upper and lowerrollers during its progress through the treatment vat or chamber and apair of nip rollers is provided at the outlet end of the vat or chamberfor pulling the fabric through. These prior processes and machines havebeen unsatisfactory or of limited application mainly because the tensionand changing feed speeds necessary to advance fabric which may drag,

2 stretch or shrink when wet, through the vat or chamber, are usuallyenough tojdistort or-damage most fabrics unless proper provision is madeto overcome this dimculty, and prior to my invention, this diflicultyhas not been overcome.

The injurious effects of such tension have lon been recognized and someefforts have been made to reduce the tension to the point where it is nolonger harmful. These efforts have involved driving the upper rollers,the lower rollers, or both at or about the same peripheral speed as thenip rollers; the use of movable rollers which yield and shift withchanging tension and various other proposed systems for equalizingtension or compensating for excessive tension. These proposed systemshave failed or have had only limited application for one or more ofseveral reasons which I have recognized in solving this problem. They donot compensate for general shrinkage or stretching of the fabric, theydo not compensate for local or sudden changes in the fabric, or theyoperate with longitudinal web tensions higher than many fabrics canwithstand without permanent distortion or damage.

The major object of the present invention is therefore to provide aprocess and apparatus for continuously handling fabrics in which thefabric is nowhere subjected to tension substantially in excess of thatnecessary to move the fabric. Another object is to provide a process andapparatus for continuously handling fabrics in which inequalities ofoperating tension are immediately and continuously compensated.

A further object is to provide a process and apparatus for handlingfabrics in which stretch or shrinkage of the fabric is compensatedwithout affecting the operating tension moving the fabric.

Still another object is to provide a process and apparatus for handlingfabrics in various states and under various conditions withoutdistortion or injury due to excessive tension.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel process andapparatus for moving a fabric or like web through a fluid treatment bathor the like wherein changes in the length of the web during its passagethrough said bath or the like are ineffective to materially alter theoperating tension on the web.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel process andapparatus for progressing a roller supported web of fabric or the likethrough;-

a fluid treatment bath or the like wherein changes in length of the webdue to shrinkage, stretching or like causes are ineffective tomaterially alter the operating tension on the web.

These and other objects and advantages reside in certain novel featuresof construction, arrangement and relationship of parts and in novelsteps and processes as will hereinafter be more fully set forth andpointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of an apparatus embodying myinvention;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the outlet end of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is an elevation of one form of driven roller which may be usedin the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a modified form of cleat for the roller illustrated inFigure 3; and

Figure 5 is another form of driven roller assembly which may be used inthe apparatus.

While my invention is adapted to the handling of fabrics in variousforms such as rope or open width and in various conditions, dry. wet orin a liquid as will hereinafter appear. for simplicity, I haveillustrated the invention as applied to the handling of open widthfabric in a liquid, as for example in dyeing.

In the drawing, ll designates a dyeing vat having along its bottom aseries of parallel troughs II for holding the dye liquor it. The troughsIi serve primarily to reduce the amount of dye liquor required. Withinthe vat ll there are a plurality of upper guides such as freelyrotatable upper rollers l3 and a plurality of lower rollers H, eachlower roller it being located in a trough II. The fabric l5 enters thevat it through an opening it and is threaded over the upper rollers l3and under the lower rollers It in successionthrough the vat Ill.

The fabric I5 is finally withdrawn from the vat it through an opening l!by nip rolls i8 and it. For positive feeding, the fabric I! may bepassed over the upper idler nip roll ll, then between the nip rolls,then out under the driven nip roll l9.

Nip roll I! is driven from any convenient source of power such as themotor 20 through a chain 2! and a sprocket wheel 22. The sprocket 22 isalso connected by a drive chain 24 to a sprocket wheel 23 on one end ofone of the rollers II. In the embodiment illustrated,'each of therollers I4 is provided with a sprocket wheel 25 on the side oppositesprocket wheel 23. and all of the sprocket wheels 25 are connected by achain 26 so that all of the rollers ll rotate together and are drivenfrom the nip roll I.

The principal feature of my invention resides in the relation betweenthe surface speeds of the nip roll l9 and that of the rollers I4. I havefound that when the rollers H are rotated at a speed such that theirperipheral surface speed is greater than the linear speed of the fabric,

excessive tension is eliminated throughout the apparatus.

The linear speed of the fabric through the apparatus is a function oftwo factors, the linear speed imparted by the nip rolls ll and I! andothers so that the fabricwill be traveling at different linear speeds atdifferent points and these speeds may exceed either the input or outputspeeds or both. I have found that when the surface speed of each rollerit exceeds the maximum linear speed of the fabric at that roller, thefabric is moved through the apparatus without appreciable tension. Theamount by which the surface speed of the rollers H should exceed thelinear speed ofthe fabric is not critical but 'may be limited by otherfactors in certain processes as will hereinafter be described.

In ordinary operation the loops of fabric containing the rollers N arerelatively loose, and the rollers it slip forwardly relative to theadjacent portion of the fabric, imparting a forwardly directed drivingforce to the fabric by friction. As indicated in Figure 1, actualphysical contact between the rollers I4 and the fabric may not always bepresent, particularly when the rollers are immersed in a liquid, since afilm of liquid will tend to adhere to and rotate with the rollers andthis film will transmit the required driving force from the rollers tothe fabric. If slack develops in a particular loop due to elongation ofthe fabric or from some other cause, the loop will lengthen, thefrictional driving force will be reduced, and the speed of the fabric inthat loop will decrease slightly until the slack is taken up. If tensionstarts to develop in a particular loop, the loop will shorten, thefrictional driving force will be increased, and the speed of the fabricin that loop will instantly-increase to avoid any excess tension. Sincethe peripheral speed of each roller i4 is always greater than the linearspeed of the adjacent fabric, the

. driving forces of these rollers are thus made more effective or lesseffective by the slightest increase or decrease in tension, so thatthese forces are instantly applied at the proper points whenever tensionbegins to increase. Since the amount of driving force applied by aparticular roller ll depends upon the tightness or looseness of thefabric traveling beneath that roller, and the amount of forward slip ofthe roller relative to the adjacent fabric in turn depends upon thedriving force, the driving force imparted will always be just enough toprevent undue tension and not enough to introduce appreciable slack.

In the description of my invention it must be borne in mind that thetensions referred to are so slight as to be practically negligible.Throughout the apparatus, the fabric is in a loose, relaxed conditionand the most minute changes in tension are instantly and locallyrelieved and equalized.

-It can be seen that between any two rolls it there are two balancedlengths of the fabric i5 passing over a freely rotatable roller IS. Theonly tension any roller It need impart therefore is that necessary toovercome the friction of the roller II. This tension is so-slight as tobe practically negligible.

My apparatus is so free from tension that with some fabrics and in someoperations it has been found to be sometimes desirable to provide meansfor introducing outside tension to prevent overrunning or'tangling. Thistension may be applied by a friction member 2'! secured at one end tothe wall of the vat I0 and at its other end to an adjusting mechanismIt. The memplicable to a wide variety of conditions, I have found thatfor certain treatments, operation is improved by particular designs andshapes for the rollers ll.

Dry fabric may be handled in air or other gas with rollers ofpractically any shape. Cylindrical rollers are simple to make andoperate entirely satisfactorily with dry fabrics.

The handling of wet fabrics, or the handling of fabrics in liquids,involves other problems.

- Wet fabrics sometimes tend to adhere to or wrap around the rollersand, when the rollers and fabric are covered by a liquid as shown inFigure 1, thi tendency to adhere and wrap around is increased due to thefact that the liquid im-.

mediately adjacent the roller rotates with the roller. There is solittle tension in the system that this rotating liquid tends to move thefabric around over the top of the roller M. This tendency of the fabricto adhere to and wrap around the roller may be reduced or eliminated ina number of ways and several examples of means for eliminating orreducing this tendency are illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

As illustrated in Figure 5, any tendency of the fabric to adhere to orwrap around the roller It may be eliminated by providing a fixedstripping bar or rod 30 adjacent the roller M. This stripping bar or rod30 may be rigidly fixed to the wall of the vat l0 and the fabric engagesthis bar or rod 30 as it leaves the roller I4 and is thus positivelyprevented from wrapping around the roller.

I have also found that the tendency of the fabric to adhere to or wraparound the roller is diminished as the surface contact between thefabric and the roller is reduced and also when the surface contactbetween the fabric and the roller is not continuous.

A roller embodying these principles is illustrated in Figure 3, thisroller consisting of a cylindrical body 3| having a plurality ofparallel spaced rods or cleats 32 fixed thereto. These rods or cleats 32hold the fabric away from' the surface of the cylindrical body 3| andeliminate or minimize any tendency of the fabric to wrap around theroller. In the handling of open width fabrics, some outward smoothingmay be desired and wires 33 in herringbone form, may be secured over therods or cleats 32 to provide this outward smoothing effect. These wires33 are inclined outwardly from the center to the ends of the cleats 32and rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation of the roller.

The cleat shown in Figure 4 may be substituted for the cleats 32 andwires 33 on the roller shown in Figure 3. This cleat consists of asemi-cylindrical body portion 34 having raised, spaced knobs 35 whichmay be inclined rearwardly and outwardly with respect to the directionof rotation of the roller in herringbone form to give some outwardsmoothing effect if desired. The body portion 34 is suitably secured tothe cylindrical body 3| by welding or the like.

The roller illustrated in Figure 3 is merely an example and variousother forms may be used. I have used square rollers, elliptical rollers,rollers with corrugated surfaces and rollers of other shapes withsatisfactory results.

As pointed out above, when the rollers H are operating in a liquid asshown in Figure 1, the liquid tends to rotate with the roller andincreases the tendency of the fabric to wrap around the roller. Thiseffect increases as the speed of rotation of the liquid increases and,since the speed of rotation of the liquid depends upon the speed ofrotation of the rollers, it is sometimes prefer-v able to keep the speedof the rollers H as low as possible so long as the surface speed of therollers exceeds the maximum linear speed of the fabric.

In certain liquid treatments, such as washing, where a large amount ofturbulence is desired, the rollers Il may be rotated at high speed toincrease the turbulence.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I am able to attain theobjects of my invention and provide novel processes and apparatus forhandling fabrics continuously and at high speeds without subjecting thefabrics to substantial or injurious tension.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore'to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling a moving length of said material in the curvedportion of said loop.

2. Apparatus for handling a moving length of material comprising twospaced substantially horizontal upper guides over which said material ispassed, said material being positioned with a depending loop betweensaid upper guides, means for withdrawing said material from saidapparatus, material advancing means positioned within said loop andmeans for operating said material advancing means at a surface speedgreater than the linear speed of said material at the bottom of saidloop.

3. Apparatus for handling a moving length of material comprising aplurality of spaced freely rotatable upper rollers, said material beingpositioned with a depending loop between adjacent upper rollers, meansfor withdrawing said material from said apparatus, material advancingmeans positioned within each of said loops, and means for operating saidmaterial advancing means at a surface speed in excess of the linearspeed of said material at the bottom of said loop.

4. Apparatus for handling a moving length of material comprising aplurality of spaced upper guides over which said material is passed,said material being positioned with a depending loop between adjacentupper guides, means for withdrawing said material from said apparatus, aroller within each loop and means for rotating each roller at a speedsuch that the surface speed of the roller exceeds the speed of thematerial in the curved portion of said loop.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which the upper guides consist offreely rotatable rollers.

6. Apparatus for handling a moving length of material which may changein length during handling, comprising a plurality of spaced freelyrotatable upper rollers and a plurality of spaced lower rollers spacedfrom said upper rollers, said material passing over each upper rollerand under each lower roller in succession, means for withdrawing saidmaterial from said apparatus,

and means for driving said lower rollers at a speed such that thesurface speed of the lower rollers is greater than the surface speed ofthe withdrawing means by an amount exceeding the maximum variation inspeed of the material resulting from change of length of said material.

7. Apparatus for fluidtreatment of an elongated web of materialcomprising an enclosure, means to support a portion of the web withinthe enclosure in the form of a depending loop. means for delivering theweb from the enclosure at a predetermined speed, web-advancing meanslocated within the lower portion of the loop and arranged to advance theweb solely by frictional engagement therewith, and means to drive theweb-advancing means at a surface speed appreciably exceeding the speedof web delivery and thereby cause the web-advancing means to slipforwardly relative to the adjacent portion of the web regardless ofshrinkage or elongation of the web.

8. Apparatus for fluid treatment of an elongated web of materialcomprising an enclosure, means to support a portion of the web withinthe enclosure in the form of a depending loop, means for delivering theweb from the enclosure at a predetermined speed, a substantiallyhorizontal rotatable roll located within the lower portion of the loopand arranged toadvance the web solely by frictional engagementtherewith, and means to drive the 3011 at a surface speed appreciablyexceeding the speed of web delivery and thereby cause the roll to slipforwardly relative to the adjacent portion of the web regardless ofshrinkage or elongation of the web.

9. Apparatus for fluid treatment of an elongated web of materialcomprising an enclosure, means to support a portion of the web withinthe enclosure in the form of an open width depending loop, means fordelivering the web from the enclosure at a predetermined speed, asubstantially horizontal rotatable roll located within the lower portionof the loop and arranged to advance the web solely by frictionalengagement therewith, the peripheral surface of the roll includingprojections which are inclined in directions outwardly from the centralportion of the roll toward the ends thereof and rearwardly with respectto the direction of rotation thereof, and means to drive the roll at asurface speed appreciably exceeding the speed of web delivery andthereby cause the roll to slip forwardly relative to the adjacentportion of the web regardless of shrinkage or elongation of the web, thesaid projections imparting a continuous outward smoothing action to theweb.

10, Apparatus for fluid treatment of an elongated web of materialcomprising an enclosure, a series of guides to support a portion of theweb within the enclosure in the form of a series of depending loops,means to deliver the web from the enclosure at a predetermined speed, asubstantially horizontal rotatable roll located within the lower portionof each loop and ar-- ranged to advance the web solely by frictionalengagement therewith, and means to drive the rolls to support a portionof the web within the enclosure in the form of a series of dependingloops, means to deliver the web from the enclosure at a predeterminedspeed, a substantially horizontal lower rotatable roll located withinthe lower portion of each loop and arranged to advance the web solely byfrictional engagement therewith. and means to drive the lower rolls atsurface speeds appreciably exceeding the speed of web delivery andthereby cause the lower rolls to slip forwardly relative to the adjacentportions of the web regardless of shrinkage or elongation of the web- 412. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11, in which adjustable frictionbraking means is provided in connection with the upper idler rolls toresist the rotation thereof. I

13. A method for fluid treatment of running lengths of flexiblematerials such as textiles and \the like which are subject to shrinkagecomprising the steps of supporting the material in a depending loop,allowing the material to enter the loop and to leave the loop freelywithout appreciable tension, withdrawing the material from the loop at apredetermined speed, and applying a force to the inner surface of theloop by friction tending to advance the material at a speed appreciablyexceeding the speed of withdrawal and thus avoiding excess tension inthe material regardless of shrinkage thereof.

14. A method for fluid treatment of running lengths of flexiblematerials such as textiles and the like which are subject to shrinkagecomprising the steps of supporting the material in a depending loop.allowing the material to enter the by friction tending to advance thematerial at a speed appreciably exceeding the speed of withdrawal andthus avoiding excess tension in the material regardless of shrinkagethereof.

15. A method for fluid treatment of running lengths of flexiblematerials such as textiles and the like which are subject to shrinkagecomprising the steps of supporting the material in a series of dependingloops, allowing the material to travel freely from each loop to the nextwithout ap reciable tension, withdrawing the material from the loops ata predetermined speed, and applying a rotary force to the inner surfaceof each .-loop by friction tending to advance the material at a speedappreciably exceeding the speed of withdrawal and thus avoiding excesstension in the material regardless of shrinkage thereof.

16. A method for fluid treatment of open width running lengths offlexible materials such as textiles and the like which are subject toshrinkage comprising the steps of supporting the material in a dependingloop with the lower portion thereof shaped as an upwardly concave arc,allowing the material to enter the loop and to leave the loop freelywithout appreciable tension, withdrawing the material from the loop at apredetermined speed, and applying a rotary force to the inner concavesurface of the loop by friction tending to advance the material at aspeed appreciably exceeding the speed of withdrawal and thus avoidingexcess tension in the material regardless of shrinkage thereof.

17. A method for fluid treatment of open width running lengths offlexible materials such textiles and the like which are subject to shnkage drawing the material comprising the steps of supporting thematerial in a depending loop with the lower portion thereof shaped as anupwardly concave arc, allowing the material to enter the loop and toleave the loop freely without appreciable tension, withfrom the loop ata predetermined speed, and applying a rotary force to the inner concavesurface of the loop by friction with a component tending to advance thematerial at a speed appreciably exceeding the speed of withdrawal andthus avoiding excess tension in the material regardless of shrinkagethereof, the said rotary force also having oppositely directed lateralcomponents tending to smooth the material from its center toward itsedges.

18. Apparatus for feeding a web from a source of supply comprising meansfor pulling said web, guide means for supporting said web between saidsource and the pulling means, said web being supported in the form of adepending loop, a web advancing member rotatably mounted within andadjacent the bottom of said loop, means for rotating said web advancingmember at a speed such that the surface speed of the web advancingmember is greater than the linear speed of said web at the bottom ofsaid loop, and means for breaking the adhesion between said web and saidmember.

19. Apparatus for feeding a web from a source of supply comprising meansfor pulling said web, guide means for' supporting said web between saidsource and the pulling means in the form of a depending loop, a webadvancing member rotatably mounted within and adjacent the bottom ofsaid loop, means for rotating said web advancing member at a speed suchthat the sur- (face speed of the web advancing member is greater thanthe linear speed of said web at the bottom of said loop. and guide meanspositioned within said loop adjacent said web advancing member forguiding the material away from the advancing member at the desired pointto prevent said material from wrapping around said advancing member.

20. Apparatus for handling a moving elongated web of material comprisingguide means, said material being positioned on said guide means with aplurality of depending loops, means for pulling said material from saidguide means, substantially horizontal roller means positioned withineach loop adjacent the curved bottom portion thereof and means forrotating the roller means in each loop at a surface speed greater thanthe linear speed of the material in the curved bottom portion of suchloop, the excess 88 speed of said roller means causing said roller meansto slip forwardly with respect to said material.

21. Apparatus for handling a moving elongated web of material comprisingguide means, said material being positioned on said guide means with aplurality of depending loops, means for pulling said material from saidguide means, substantially horizontal roller means positioned withineach loop adjacent the curved bottom portion thereof, means for rotatingthe roller means in each loop at a surface speed greater than the linearspeed of the material in the curved bottom portion of such loop, theexcess speed of said roller means causing said roller means to slipforwardly with respect to said material, and means for breaking adhesionbetween said material and said roller means.

22. Apparatus for handling a moving elongated web of material comprisingguide means, said material being positioned on' said guide means with aplurality of depending loops, eans for pulling said material from saidguide in ans, substantially horizontal roller means positioned withineach loop adjacent the curved bottom portion thereof, means for rotatingthe roller means in each loop at a surface speed greater. than thelinear speed of the material in the curved bottom portion of such loop,the excess speed of said roller means causing said roller means to slipforwardly with respect to said material, and means within such loop andadjacent such roller means for stripping the material from the rollermeans.

28. A method for fluid treatment of running lengths of flexiblematerials such as textiles and the like which are subject to shrinkagecomprising the steps of supporting the material in a depending loop,allowing the material to enter the loop and to leave the loop freelywithout appreciable tension, withdrawing the material from the loop at apredetermined speed, applying a rotary force to the inner surface of theloop by friction tending to advance the material at a speed appreciablyexceeding the speed of withdrawal and thus avoiding excess tension inthe material regardless of shrinkage thereof and away from said rotaryforce as the material leaves the curved bottom porprevent the materialfrom the loop.

HAROLD H. BELCHER.

REFERENCES crrEn The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'EN'I'B wrapping on itself in Number Name Date 248,479Lallemand Oct. 18, 1881 430,925 Corron June 24, 1890 644,498 Cook Feb.27, 1900 1,058,459 Petzold Apr. 9, 1918 2,223,858 Schellenberg Dec. 3,1940 2,239,636 Weiss Apr. 22, 1941 2,267,117 Mann Dec. 23, 19412,276,605 Andrews Mar. 17, 1942 2,321,635 Taylor June 15, 1948 PatentNo. 2,474,717.

Certificate-of Correction V k June 28,- 1949. HAROLD H. BELOHIER It ishereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of theabove numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 10, list of references cited, foll wing line 61, add thefollowing:

1,158,560 Rutherford r -November 2, 1915 1,260,595 Thom son -March 26,1918 1,679,096 'Po et July 31, 1928 1,803,664 Cohoe "May 5, 19312,066,168 Witte 1. December 29, 1936 2,123,445 Van Leuven July 12, 1938v and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office. Signed and sealed this 15th day of November, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Aseistant of PM.

